I quite agree with Heimdall on the advantages of Business Class, and thank him for reminding me of it. With that in mind, you can be pleased with either the ChampionJet OR the Blue Star, your choice depending on the schedule u prefer (1) Dep 10:45 - arr 12:15?? approx. or (2) dep 3:15, arr 5:30. You buy your ticket the day before, on Santorini at any ticket agency, they're everywhere.

TJ, let me also remind you that ChampionJet doesn’t go through the caldera. It heads straight out from Athinios port and goes around the island of Thirassia, so you only get a rapidly disappearing view. The reason for this is that highspeed ferries leave a large wake, eroding the shoreline and disturbing boats anchored offshore. Blue Star sails sedately through the caldera past Fira, Oia and the other caldera villages, disturbing no one, and offering passengers a longer view.

RIght .... I guess I forgot that part, having done the Blue Star so many times. Thanks for the reminder. If OP opts for Blue Star, with the late-day arrival, I hope that she will opt for staying 5 nights in Naxos, since this means a half-day less, on an island SO much larger than Santorini, so much more to see/do.

Thank you to Heimdall and Travelerjan for your detailed and very helpful information about the ferry choices. I am sold on the Blue Star, even though we will arrive in Naxos around 5:30pm. Unfortunately, I cannot add a 5th night to Naxos. But at least in May it will be lighter longer, so we should be able to enjoy Naxos Town during the evening when we arrive. TJ, I notice you suggest buying our ferry tickets the day before we leave Santorini. Is there a risk the ferry would be sold out? Is there any harm in purchasing our tickets before we leave the US?

I heard back from Mill House Suites, and there are 70 steps we have to walk down to get to the hotel. They do have staff that will help us with our luggage, but I am concerned about the 70 steps every time we leave the hotel and return to the hotel. So I am also holding a reservation at Ellinon Thea Boutique Hotel in Firostefani that is recommended by Matt Barrett. The hotel is built on street level so there aren't any flights of steps to climb. It is not on the main road but does have views of the caldera. The rate is roughly $200 for a suite with a caldera view and outdoor hot tub and includes breakfast. Is anyone familiar with this hotel?

I posted a response a few minutes ago thanking Heimdall and travelerjan for their ferry information, but it is currently in moderation for some reason. Hope they post it soon.

To Travelerjan and Heimdall, it's my response #44 that I referred to in post #45. Moderators finally posted it.

To Travelerjan, Heimdall, and anyone else familiar with Athens hotels,
Do you know anything about the following hotels:

Acropolis Museum Boutique Hotel on 48 Syggrou - the rate is about $181 per night. It looks lovely.
Athens Gate Hotel on 10 Sygrou - about $158 per night
Airotel Parthenon at 6 Makri Street - rate is about $141 per night

I am leaning towards Acropolis Museum Boutique Hotel.

The Thea Boutique should be fine ... it is not necessary to be on the Main Street... it just should not be too far to the EAST of it, because that inland side slopes down sharply. I presume the website shows Caldera View. Be sure the text says CALDERA view not "ocean view" or "Sea view" -- which means a view toward other side of island.

Here's a fab online Central Ath map = Attachment 6111 Click & it gets huuuge; navigate with side-slides. . To orie,t, put Acropolis in the center, & look just b elow & to right, for the streets involved. It shows relative size of streets, so u can predict heavy traffic, noise etc

In Athens Do not fall for pretty photos of rooms & bathrooms... on Booking.com or similar, click on "view on map" which shows exact location -- descriptions can deceive, maps can't lie (incidentally, check map for the Firostephani one also) I would NOT book anything on Syggrou, that is a hugely busy Main street with 6 lanes of traffic day & night -- i'm serious; this street is so wide & traffic is so heavy you cannot walk across on one greenlight; you must stop on the middle narrow island with traffic roaring by on both sides. So -- no recommend for Museum Boutique -- OR for Athens Gate, which is right where 6-lane Amalia changes its name to Syngrou. Because of noise, u would need a high floor in Athens Gate & in back, if you'd want a view toward Acropolis (even there, friends told me of a hazard, they were pleased to be given rooms on top floor, but until 2 am or later, they heard overhead steps and scrapes of chairlegs until 2 am from the rooftop restaurant.

By contrast look at location of Airotel; it's on the 1st plock of MAKRI -- a little street coming right off the NO-CARS promenade that runs along the South SIde of the Acropolis Precinct. Much quieter -- AND closer to Museum & ruins. Another forum advisor I know, British Expat who's lived in Greece 20 years, when she lived in coutnryside stayed at Airotel regularly & recommended it to many. A tip: if you go to Trip Advisor Reviews of a hotel, a hotels review will have a feature called "room tip" where reviewers will recommend which rooms/floors etc to ask for -- since u are booking FAR in advance, you might get lucky. At least ask for a high floor.

KarenWoo, to your question in post #44, there is no chance at all that Blue Star will be full leaving Santorini. The ferry begins its trip back to Piraeus at Santorini, and picks up more passengers when it stops at Naxos and Paros on the way, so the leg between Santorini and Naxos couldn’t possibly be full.

I usually buy my ferry tickets a couple of days before the sailing date, but you can buy them from a ticket agent any time you like. I would be reluctant, while Covid is still around, to buy ferry tickets before leaving the US, just in case you test positive and have to postpone your trip. The more you can leave until you get to Greece, the better IMO.

Now Blue Star and some of the other ferry companies have e-tickets, so you don’t need to stop by the agency anymore to pick up tickets if you have a smart phone with internet access. There are a couple of ticket agencies in Fira, though, so it’s not much trouble to stop by when you are there.

For the record, I have only once ever booked a ferry on the internet in advance, and that was for a trip from Piraeus in August. In the event the ferries weren’t full, so it turned out to be unnecessary. Once, when travelling back from Paros in early September Blue Star was full, and I had to buy a VIP ticket on a highspeed. That was on a weekend when everyone was travelling home at the end of their holidays. Even though I was travelling in the VIP section the highspeed was crowded, unlike Blue Star where you have room to move around.

We stayed at Anastasis Apartments in Imerovigli which has basically no steps except to a second floor accommodation. We booked it 2 years ago when traveling with someone who recently had knee surgery. We loved our stay there and have booked 3 nights in May.

Thank you so much to everyone who has responded. You are all so helpful.
Heimdall, I appreciate your info about buying ferry tickets once we get to Santorini. I am the type of person who likes to purchase/reserve everything in advance especially transportation related. You make a good point about why not to book the ferry tickets in advance, regarding COVID, and it is nice to know the Blue Star ferry from Santorini to Naxos starts in Santorini.

Judy, even though my first choice is to stay in Firostefani, I looked up Anastasis Apartments and they are completely booked for our dates!

Travelerjan, thank you for the info about Syggrou Street. I did initially look up the location but didn't enlarge the map so I didn't realize how big and busy that street is. I am going to book the Airotel Parthenon. And the room I booked at the Ellinon Thea in Santorini is described as "Superior Quadruple Room with Hot Tub and Caldera View". And on booking.com the description of the hotel is views of "Aegean Sea, volcano & Caldera".

Glad to hear of your hotel choices. BTW just out of curiosity, just now I went to TA reviews for Hotel Airotel Parthenon... it is a 5-story hotel (with only a couple of rooms on a 6th floor, but u must walk up from 5, where elevator ends). People advised to ask for a room on the 4th or 5th floor, at the back, with balcony... some have view of acropolis. These are most quiet,also best views. I believe you'd do best by emailing the hotel direct at its online address, and asking... since u are booking 5 1/2 months ahead (and since booking direct saves the hotel the 5% agency fee), you should be able to gt at least part of the request ... high floor & back, at least.

KayF, I would appreciate it very much if you have the time to post a picture or two. Thank you!

Travelerjan, I made my reservation at Airotel Parthenon, and I requested a room on the 4th or 5th floor with a balcony and an Acropolis view. They responded they will do their best to accommodate us.

I am happy with all of my hotels except I am still not sure about Santorini. The Ellinon Thea Boutique (with hardly any steps) got quite a few negative reviews on TripAdvisor. The Mill Houses Elegant Suites (with 70 steps) received more positive reviews on TripAdvisor, and some negative, but I guess that is to be expected. You can't please everyone. The Blue Dolphins received all positive reviews on TripAdvisor. Someone did mention they have 60 steps. I have emailed the hotel directly to ask them about the steps. Right now I am holding 2 reservations in Santorini, 1 at the Mill Houses and 1 at the Ellinon Thea. I keep going back and forth about this. Travelerjan, have you stayed at all of these places? I also asked Blue Dophins if they have staff who can help with luggage; I think they do but want to know for sure.

About Santorini --- no, I haven't Karen, though I have walked by them a number of times ... I did give you 3 that I'm familiar with, that are Facing the caldera, but not down on the cliff face -- Sunset Hotel and Hotel Mylos and Remvi hotel (the last one BTW has a great restaurant for sunset dining). These however are not as upscale as the 2 you have chosen. I myself am a budgeteer on an eensy pension, so I found and now treasure my affordable gem, Villa Fotini, a little 8-room guesthouse with balconies, that's just about 50 feet back from the caldera path, so we just walk a few steps for our view.

As for the luggage wrangling, I believe all these places offer that service. You have plenty of time to dither; isn't it nice that we can have these no-risk reservations.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...942c56fe19.jpg
This shows the buildings built down the cliff on Santorini.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1f95f1b27d.jpg
Another one showing the different levels of our hotel in Oia. The pool is six levels down from the public walkway. You can see the ships far away at the bottom, a long way down.

Thank you KayF. I have seen similar photos but yours are close-ups so that helps.

I cancelled my bookings at Ellinon Thea Boutique Hotel and Mill House Elegant Suites in Santorini. Instead, I booked the Blue Dolphins Apartments! They received all positive reviews on TripAdvisor. I booked a suite with private balcony. According to their website, "From the balcony, one can marvel at wondrous views of Santorini's Caldera and volcano, Aegean Sea, and the village of Firostefani." The price is roughly $255.00 per night. They told me their hotel is located on two levels, so the amount of steps shouldn't be too bad.